Warlocks at Bowery Ballroom

Rather then going to see Phish in Harford I decided to try something new and see the Warlocks, despite hearing the occasional Phish jeer in my direction from either one of the musicians. I felt that there was something authentic and original which I and many others like me had been closed off to. Just like 100 shitty jambands started to give them a bad name, the pop and talentless indie rock had done the same.


Rather then going to see Phish in Harford I decided to try something new and see the Warlocks, despite hearing the occasional Phish jeer in my direction from either one of the musicians. I felt that there was something authentic and original which I and many others like me had been closed off to. Just like 100 shitty jambands started to give them a bad name, the pop and talentless indie rock had done the same.

I feel like such a tool taking pictures. but these dudes are cool. they are kind of old and it's a very interesting representation of the dichotomy across the spectrum 60's counter culture music, the VU and the GD. categorized as "psychedelic, yet a room full of somber hipsters who may have never tripped before in their life.

For the Warlock’s one needs to only look at the band to see the influence from the Velvet Underground. Their dark sunglasses and somber expressions bring back memories of NYC’s original hipsters. Songs from the night’s selist which were obviously influenced by the VU include “Song for Nico,” “Shake the Dope Out” and “The Dope Feels Good.” The link can heard clearly in their music which evokes the dark, bi-polar, landscapes of the Velvet Underground and Nico, and Live at Max’s Kansas City.
The band's sound is tight and skillfully crafted. The music is raw and sincere and despite all impulses to say otherwise unpretentious . The singing is high energy with tactful use of back up harmonizing. The group makes incredible use of vocals, to a point which I am not used to hearing, the sound is very clean and exact, recreating at what times sounds like a studio mastered sound. The solo’s were experimental and unpredictable at one point I felt like one of the guitarists was channeling John Cale, (the violinist for the Velvet Underground) with distorted and ambient screeching guitar sounds.


After the show I went up to meet the band and see what they were like as people, a case of PBR lay on the floor across from a bottle of Makers Mark on the table. I had noticed a lot of people on this place called the internet complaining about the band’s choice of name in reference to the Grateful Dead so I decided to ask them about it, it didn't seem to be a big a deal to them at all and what I got from them is that it was based solely off of the Velvet Underground. The lead singer Joe is a soft spoken and androgynous character, who seemed to be somewhat anxious after there show, possibly due to him being one of the only sober ones in a room full of intoxicated people. As he took off his sunglasses I asked him if met Lou Reed and we laughed when we he mentioned it would be “a weird conversation”